I'm Back and Worse Than Ever

The Sauce went on an ill-advised 16 day sabbatical which started with a parasailing adventure in Paraguay (bumped my head and forgot the log in information to this blog) and ended with a bouncer throwing me out of the Sky Bar in Los Angeles after I told Dave Navarro he sucks at life (bumped my head again and remembered my log in information). Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I announced the birth of my brand new rock band. But more on that later...

Hollywood. It's where dreams come true. A magical place where bartenders and waiters can lie and convince everyone they're also an actor. But it also serves as the official stop for successful comedians whether they're hosting an awards show or a daily late night talk show.

Only a few years ago, Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg was a nobody, making funny videos with his buddies on the internet. On Sunday night, Samberg hosts the MTV Movie Awards. Yes it's an awards show that shamelessly helps plug all the summer movies, but it also serves as a tremendous platform to spoof the very same movies it has to honor. And who better to help make fun of these films than Samberg.

MTV's "For Your Consideration" promos have been mildly hilarious, but this one is my personal favorite. Maybe all it takes is Will Arnett, but if we see more comedy like the first 30 seconds of Slaughter Shack, we're in for a decent show.

More importantly, Conan O'Brien takes his seat at the Tonight Show desk for the first time Monday night. A seat once occupied by the likes of Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and that dude with the big chin and corny jokes... what's his name again?? Oh, right. Jay Leno.

For every generation, there's a legendary late night talk show host who represents the people. Carson and Letterman are perfect examples. And now, Conan is in prime position to be the next legend. Even though he's a legend in many people's minds, he has yet to attract the attention of the average American.

Conan's not for everyone, in fact, he's not for most people because most people don't have the capabilities to appreciate his sense of humor. Always remember, 15 million Americans watch shows like NCIS and CSI: Miami. Keeping this in mind, one can never be surprised when a brilliant but quirky program doesn't pull in millions of viewers.

It'll be interesting to see what gags Conan keeps alive at the pre-midnight time period, and what new tricks he has up his sleeve. For Samberg, we know his tricks, so will he bring the digital short mentality and mash it up with the Movie Award spoof format? He has one night to show off... for Conan, he has years. Good luck to both.

Sorry for the long layoff. Keep betting on black. Say your prayers before bedtime.

Seventh Heaven

Wow, so three of the four conference semifinal matchups will require 7 games before a winner is decided. Tonight, the NHL's dream playoff matchup will come to an end. The Penguins-Capitals series has lived up to the hype and then some. Right now, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are both tied for the league lead in goals with 10.

Will goal #11 decide the series? Wouldn't that be something.

Out in Anaheim, the Ducks held on to force a 7th game against the mighty Detroit Red Wings. They'll go for the upset on Thursday night... my money's on Detroit.

Finally, the most intriguing of the three, the Bruins have climbed back from a 3-1 deficit to force a game 7 on Home Ice Thursday. The Sauce's pick to represent the East in the Stanley Cup Finals (the Canes) will have their hands full as the B's clearly have momentum and a rockin' Garden to support them. Of course, that can all be erased if the Canes score the first goal.

With both games only 30 minutes apart on Thursday, will hockey fans be able to see both? Probably not, which is a real shame. The NHL should've moved one of the two series to Friday night.

Finally a band with a cool name

Although a google search for the band, Hockey, doesn't produce the number of results you might expect for a group trying to make a name for themselves, it should only be a matter of time until more people are searching for info on this hip new group from Portland, Oregon. 

Hockey has drawn comparisons to LCD Soundsystem and The Strokes according to their wikipedia page.  That's a fair assessment, but take a listen and judge for yourself. 

iTunes has their single "Too Fake"... their myspace page has a handful of their tracks and is worth 5-15 minutes of your time if you're interested in discovering new music before it's mainstream.

The band is slated to perform at the 2009 Bonnaroo Festival and the 09 edition of Lollapalooza in Chicago this August. By that time, their debut album will have been out in the UK for a few months and the PR machine should be all greased up (album drops in the US on August 24th).

So why am I writing about them? Subconciously, I'm excited that they've chosen the name hockey for their band name. But seriously, they offer a soulful sound that reminds me of other alternative bands I listen to. Better yet, they don't have an album out yet which makes following them all the more exciting.

In this era of the digital download, discovering music has changed for the better. Fifteen years ago, I wouldn't catch wind of this group until months after their studio album and a few weeks after the radio airplay was in full swing.

I caught one of their songs, "Work, work, work", in the latest Sony Playstation 3 title MLB 09: The Show. Arguably, the best next gen sports title to date (right up there with EA Sports' NHL 09). The soundtracks of video games has proven to be one of the greatest ways to expose consumers to new artists. EA Sports has an amazing track record (The Madden NFL franchise in particular) of introducing new bands to the mainstream and kudos to Sony for following suit.

Keep your eyes on these guys, and if they end up changing their name to differentiate themselves in Google searches from the greatest sport on the planet... I'll be sure to let you know.

Oh My Ovechkin

The NBA has the battle between Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. The NHL has the battle between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The difference? Well, right now the difference is the latter are actually battling out in a grueling seven game series in the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs, while NBA brass anxiously await the fate of their NBA Finals matchup.

In a game where NHL's poster boy, Crosby, scored his first ever post-season hat trick, it was Ovechkin who got the last laugh with a hat trick of his own.

With the scored tied 2-2 late in the third period, Mike Green found Ovechkin alone on the left point and feathered a perfect pass for what has become the signature move for the Great 8. A wicked one-timer that beat Marc-Andre Fleury to the short side to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead. Just two and a half minutes later, Ovechkin raced down the right side on a one-on-one with Penguins defender Sergei Gonchar. Ovechkin cut to the middle, dragging the puck behind his stride and unleashed an out of this world wrist shot that beat Fleury and set the Verizon Center into a frenzy. Can you hear me now? Good.

Crosby scored an impressive goal of his own, batting the puck out of mid-air past the Caps' impressive rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov, but it was too little too late.

The NHL got this dream matchup and the star players are living up to the hype. Celtics-Bulls? Thanks, but I'll take this series instead. If Evgeni Malkin gets his game going, the Penguins will be right back in this series, but it's hard to imagine the Penguins having an answer for Ovechkin right now.

He can beat teams in so many ways. Both of his late goals defied hockey logic. The one-timer came less than three seconds after an offensive zone draw. A coverage mistake by Matt Cooke that he'd certainly like back.

The final goal came on a one-on-one play which typically requires an amazing move past or around the defenseman. Any shot scored in this type of situation is considered a bad goal to give up. But can Fleury or Gonchar be faulted? Not really. And therein lies the beauty of the Great 8's game. The argument can be made for Crosby or Malkin, but Ovechkin will do whatever he can to erase any doubts of him being the best player in the NHL.

It's hard to believe he won't succeed. 

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 2 Picks

Moving on to the second round...

The Sauce went an impressive 7-1 with its first round predictions including a perfect pick on the Capitals in 7. Now it gets more difficult. Only 8 teams remain and all of them are super talented, tough as nails and each team can say they are more experienced than they were two weeks ago.

Here we go...

Eastern Conference

#1 Boston Bruins vs. #6 Carolina Hurricanes

Unlike the San Jose Sharks, the Bruins come into this round after an impressive regular season and a dismantling of their bitter rivals, the Canadiens. It's hard to say whether the layoff and rest will help them versus a Hurricanes team that miraculously stole game 7 from the Devils just a few nights ago.

These two teams are similar. The Canes are playing their best hockey all year which is a good sign, most importantly, their goalie Cam Ward is tending the nets like he did during the Canes' 2006 Cup run. The Canes have an advantage up front with their grit and experience. Guys like Rod Brind'Amour, Matt Cullen, Erik Cole, and superstar Eric Staal have been through this grind before. The Bruins don't know what to expect from Phil Kessel, David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Chuck Kobasew.

On defense, the Bruins have the advantage with big man Zdeno Chara leading the way. Though the Hurricanes' improved defense is a major reason why this team was able to turn it on down the stretch. Former Flyers Dennis Seidenberg and Joni Pitkanen have looked like veterans manning the blue line over the past few months.

In goal it's a draw with Vezina Trophy candidate Tim Thomas battling the red hot Ward. The winner of the special teams play might tip the scales in either direction. The Bruins have the advantage here and the Canes struggled against the Devils on the man advantage. Boston will need to get the power play clicking early to take advantage of their home ice in games one and two.

The Canes will need clutch goal scoring like they got in round one. Maybe not from Jussi Jokinen this time, but perhaps Sergei Samsonov or Tuomo Ruutu.

I like the Bruins as much as any team out there right now, but the Hurricanes were my pick to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. For whatever reason, in almost every season in the last 5 have we seen a Cup finalist that missed the playoffs the prior season. It's a mystery, but a common trend so the Canes are my pick.

Key Player: Chad Larose, Hurricanes. This scrappy, agitating winger played huge against the Devils. He created room for Eric Staal by doing the little things in both zones. If he can continue this play, Staal will have more breathing room against Chara. If his play fizzles, the Staal line might go down with it creating high goal scoring expectations for the Brind'Amour line.

Prediction: Hurricanes in 6

#2 Washington Capitals vs. #4 Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Evgeni Malkin. Without question the three best forwards in the NHL today. You'll hear sound-bites from all of these players redirecting the focus on the teams and not the superstar rivalries that exist, but don't believe them for one second. There is plenty of ego involved here. Both Crosby and Ovechkin have been battling for years to achieve the status of the NHL's top player, but it's been Malkin who brings the most complete game of the three and could be the NHL's MVP this season. Malkin led all players with 9 points in the opening round against the Flyers. The Flyers D had no answers for him in crucial situations throughout the series. It's very hard to imagine the Capitals will have an answer for him.

In round one, the Jordan Staal line was arguably the reason the Penguins prevailed over the Flyers. They consistently pinned Jeff Carter's line in their own zone for an entire shift. Depending on the line matchups here, we could see a very productive series from Staal, Tyler Kennedy, and Matt Cooke.

The x-factor in this series comes down to two players: Capitals goalie Simeon Varlamov, and Caps forward Alex Ovechkin. If Varlamov remains stoic in net and can frustrate the Penguins shooters, then we could see a very long series and a Capitals victory. Same goes for Ovechkin. If he can take games over, this will turn the tide.

But individual efforts do not win series' by themselves, and the Caps' Mike Green has been a disappointment so far leaving their second wave of attack very much in question. You also have to wonder why it took the Capitals seven games to defeat the New York Rangers. Yes, Henrik Lundqvist was possessed to start the series, but the Capitals outplayed them in almost every contest.

The Penguins have been on quite a roll since head coach Dan Bylsma took over and it will take a more complete team to finally stop their momentum.

Key Player: Alexander Semin, Capitals. If the Penguins find a way to contain Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, they will look to Semin, who has average 32 goals per season since 2006-07.

Prediction: Penguins in 6

Western Conference

#2 Detroit Red Wings vs. #8 Anaheim Ducks

Why is it that the Ducks posed a real threat to the Sharks, but you don't get that same sense here. Ah, the Red Wings are a savvy bunch that have already won numerous Stanley Cups. But let's not forget, it was only two years ago when Scott Niedermayer hoisted the Cup over his head. So I believe we have the makings of a possible upset here. The easy to imagine it is the Ducks' toughness prevails over the Wings' finesse and rookie goaltender Jonas Hiller outplays Chris Osgood. Osgood had a very strong series versus the Blue Jackets but he will always be disrespected because of his sudden drop in play during periods of the regular season (and basically every year since 2000).

I like the Ducks defense here as they can certainly frustrate an offense like the Red Wings. It will be crucial for the Wings to have a strong down low presence with Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom. They need to post up on Hiller's front door step and rattle the young netminder. These players do it better than any in the league. Add in the fact that the Wings D has a very high I.Q., which translates into smart play. Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, and Brad Stuart can all bring a very accurate, low slap-shot from the blue line.

The Ducks' top forwards need to find room down low, and can ill afford to play this series on the perimeter. Guys like Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne, and Bobby Ryan can dangle with the best of them, but it won't matter if they're not playing in the dirty areas.

I'm sensing an early lead for the Ducks, but a resurgence by the Wings gets it done in the end.

Key Player: Chris Pronger, Ducks. Pronger's play dropped off a bit this season, but the big man brings his best stuff in May. His physical play and active stick could drive the Wings forwards nuts. He'll need to throw Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Valtteri Filppula, and Jiri Hudler off their games early.

Prediction: Red Wings in 7

#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #4 Chicago Blackhawks

Ok, this series already started. I'm a cheater. Well, not really (see prediction). The Canucks pulled out an insane game 1 victory on Thursday night after blowing a 3-0 lead on home ice.

This is a series with two very evenly matched hockey clubs. The Canucks have a little more grit and experience, while the Blackhawks have the youth and flash to their games.

We already saw Patrick Kane come up big for the Hawks in game 1 even though they fell short... but that's a good sign. Nikolai Khabibulin will have to better if he's to keep up with Roberto Luongo at the other end. Lungo could be the difference maker if this is to be a low scoring series. Somehow I doubt that will happen with the firepower on both sides. The Blackhawks have an opportunity to shine here and to show the hockey world what Blackhawks hockey is about now and will be about for the future. With Joel Quennville behind the bench, he will push the right buttons to make sure this team stays on track.

The Canucks have shown a lack of focus during the regular season and in past playoffs. This should be a long series because of it. Who do the Canucks turn to up front if they're in trouble? The Sedins? Maybe, but when the going will get tough, I will go with the Blackhawks. This script is only halfway done... we still have a dramatic third act approaching where the Hawks fans are in for a heartbreaker.

Key Player: Kris Versteeg. This player continues to amaze me during an impressive rookie campaign. He was arguably the Hawks best player in round one and seems to do all the things required of a two-way hockey player. If he chips in with a clutch goal or two, wins faceoffs on a regular basis, and throws his weight around. He will be the catalyst for this team in a round two victory.

Prediction: Blackhawks in 7